this past March I did the LBL 60k trail race and three weeks later did the Carmal (IN) Marathon. I think the ultra training set me up pretty well for the marathon.

I have done 2 in 2 weeks. Second one was faster. Just don’t over do it between them.

Ha ha, I have done nothing other than swimming a few times since last Saturday

7 days. 4 minutes faster on #2, but it was a cheater downhill (didn't know when I signed up)

St. George Utah marathon followed by Chicago marathon 8 days later.

I didn't run either fast. Ran St George for "fun" because I was already vacationing there. Ran Chicago with a friend to help pace her for a 4:00 finish. Legs were obviously very tired and stiff. I don't think I could have gone more than 10-12 min faster if I'd wanted to. Mentally it was also harder at Chicago because the memory of the distance I have to cover was still very fresh in my mind.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

I think more details are needed from the posters to help Herbert make a smart decision. 1. What were your times in both marathons and were you trying to run as fast as possible in both marathons. 2. How old were you when you did this.

I finished a marathon three weeks after finishing an IM when I was 40. I didn't attempt to run the marathon as fast as possible. I ran a 3:27 after running a 3:52 in the IM.

What times? And FYI I am pretty sure I could not run one this Saturday

My marathon PR is 3:32:xx several months prior to St. George
3:43 at St. George. Course is mostly downhill and it totally wrecked my quads.
3:58:xx at Chicago. Pacing/running with a friend with sub-4 hour goal. I could have probably ran 3:48-3:50 but it would have been ugly. Certainly could not have run close to my PR.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

3 weeks can work well for me if the first is done as a training run. However, my PR's have actually come off of 5 and 6 weeks between.

It will depend what you left on the course of your first, from your recovery it sounds like maybe a bit too much.

Perhaps a few more weeks, I would do a 2-3 week reverse taper to a peak week ~ 2 weeks prior to second effort. Go run today;)

The course I did last weekend was very hilly and I think I had a glucose imbalance. The one I am planning to do is mostly downhill.

Read your race report;)

Agree you likely had some nutrition problems, but you still put in a good pounding nonetheless.

If indeed you didn't leave a lot of your legs on that run, you should be feeling pretty good by now.

If there is no threat of the race filling up, get a nice 8-10 miler this weekend descending to or slightly below goal pace, then you will likely know and sign up!

Glucose imbalance, thats funny. We usually call that bonking..(-;

Unfortunately you emptied the tank on the first run and hobbled in, that kind of race takes the longest to recover from. But good news is that 3 weeks is probably long enough, but these first two weeks have to just be almost nothing as far as running. Get in the pool, do some kicking, go ride the bike and spin, and keep your HR low 100's.

Get some really good deep massages, stretch, use those blow up leg bootie things, whatever you can to recover. Eat clean, add some protein to your diet, and maybe the week before the race do some 45 minute to 1 hour paced runs at about 8 minutes. If they feel better 7 days, out, do another, if not, take another day or two off spinning on the bike. It will be close if you are 95%+ recovered, worth a try for sure...

I was going for bq , 3:05 at the time age 30.

CIM: flooding rain... 3:10
Next day 4 miles
Day 2: 6
Day 3: 12
Day 4: 16
Day 5: 12
Day 6: 6
All easy paces
Day 7: Tucson: 3:06. They put timing matt's at mile 12.8 so hitting 1:28 I thought it was half marathon point and could cruise in sub 3:05 easy.

In the end, both these races were effort wise 3:06.

6 weeks later got the BQ on legit flat course; 3:02.

My legs feel good but unfortunately my knee not. There is some liquid under and outside my left kneecap. Running impossible :-(

PM me if you can wait till the fall, I know that you were trying to BQ for next year, however, I know a fairly reliable pacer that will be running your needed pace in a mid-size fall marathon, he is also long in the tooth;)

you can do two marathons a year, or possibly three if you are better at recovery than most, it takes a month to recover from a marathon but that doesnt mean you can do another marathon after a month correctly, since during the recovery month you are, recovering, not anywhere close to peak marathon training, anyone that improves a marathon time when the second marathon is very close to the first did not do the first marathon close to potential

If I wait until the fall / October I can run 10 minutes slower to BQ as I will be 55 for Boston 2020

Depends. How old are you? How close are you to a BQ time if you were well trained/rested?

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

I am 53 now but 54 for Boston 2019 and thus need to run 3:30 (3:26) or 7:51 pace. I ran a hilly half marathon a couple months back and ran 1:36 and change. During my longest marathon prep run of 20 miles I easily ran the whole run at marathon pace. Opening and closing miles slower (8min to 8:10) and middle twelve faster (7:30-7:50). Plus I often do very long trail runs. I ran 40 plus miles a week often leading up to this so I surely think I was properly trained.

I'd tread carefully given that you are 50+. Being able to do back to back marathons fast requires a good ability to recover....

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment